Black-Necked Swan

Black-Necked Swan

Birds

SCIENTIFIC CLASSIFICATION

COMMON NAME:

black-necked swan

KINGDOM:

Animalia

PHYLUM:

Chordata

CLASS:

Aves

ORDER:

Anseriformes

FAMILY:

Anatidae

GENUS SPECIES:

Cygnus (swan) melancoryphus (black pigment)

FAST FACTS

DESCRIPTION:

As indicated by its name, this is a large white swan with a black neck. A red knob or carbuncle at the base of the upper mandible is enlarged in males at breeding season. The black-necked swan has short wings, but still is a fast flyer.

FUN FACTS

The term 'swan song' comes from the ancient Greek belief that a swan sang a song of death when its life was about to end.

2.

Male swans are called cobs, females are pens, and young are cygnets.

3.

Swans have far more neck vertebrae than mammals, with 24 or 25 vertebrae; most mammals only have seven.

4.

Swan eggs are the largest of any flighted bird.

5.

Swan parents will carry cygnets on their back while swimming, enabling the parents to regain weight lost to the rigors of mating, egg laying, incubation, simultaneous feeding, and brooding. This practice also provides protection for the downy cygnets.

6.

The black-necked swan is the largest South American waterfowl.

7.

Swans are known to have a triumph ceremony. Such ceremonies are when a male attacks a rival suitor, then returns to his potential mate to perform an elaborate ceremony while posturing and calling.

ECOLOGY AND CONSERVATION

Swans are vital in controlling aquatic plant growth. The cygnets are often food for other animals too.